Bells? What bells?
by Angel Pi
Summary: Someone has been tampering with House's cane and he's not happy! Especially since it's Christmas.


Bells? What bells?

a/n; this was originally written for the House/Cameron secret santa fic challenge, but when writing it I couldn't fit all of the criteria in needed for the challenge. But I didn't want this one to go to waste so here it is. I hope you like it. It's un-beta'd, everyone's so busy I didn't want to burden any one so if there are any mistakes just let me know!

Well, where ever you are I hope you have a Happy New Year! It's just turned 2008 here so I hope you have a good one!

Spying doctors walking down a corridor in a busy hospital is nothing new.

Seeing doctors walking down the corridor with a limp and a cane; well that is a bit odd but not entirely out of the question.

But seeing a doctor walking down the corridor with a limp and cane that was decorated with red and silver tinsel was a little out of the ordinary especially with a suspicious tinkle as he walked.

He drew stares from everyone he passed. Snickers from nurses, full out laughs from doctors he despised and gawks from patients he had little time for.

This doctor was on a mission.

A mission to seek the perpetrator who had defiled his beloved cane.

Word had obviously spread fast people were actually anticipating his arrival.

A round of applause slowly started as he approached the fourth floor nurses station, a group of the offending species gathered clapping and singing 'Jingle Bells'. He spotted a pair of friendlier eyes, someone he had hoped to garner some sort of caring sympathy.

"Hey House. Nice cane."

Obviously he was wrong.

"Shut. Up. Don't you have a bald kid to cure," House snarked with extra venom.

"Oohh extra nasty. You do realise that Santa has time to put you on the naughty list?"

House continued walking, his friend keeping up with him easily despite his fast limp. Suddenly he came to a halt in the middle of the busy corridor.

"Now correct me if I'm wrong. That prescription you asked me to write out for you. Was that for antidepressants or was that for Viagra? You know being a doctor and all I get so soo muddled," he scoffed before resuming his original path down the corridor.

"Ok, Ok, I get it. You're pissed." Wilson's hands were up in surrender.

"Of course I'm pissed. Look at what one of those little creeps did to my cane while I was asleep and someone knows about it. When I find them they'll….they'll….argh," he said stopping once again and holding the offending item in front of his friends face.

Wilson had to hold in a snicker. It was quite the sight, red and silver tinsel wound its way from base to tip, the top of cane which sported a garish red bow with several gold bells nestled in the folds. Someone had obviously had a ball getting back at him for something he had done; unfortunately the list containing a possible culprit was long, very long. Wilson just hoped they could run fast.

House's mouth opened, ready to spew forth the resulting punishment the offender would be privileged to once he had hold of the mongrel.

"House. How nice of you to spread a little Christmas cheer over the hospital," her overtly high voice seemed to grate on his mind causing his shoulders to slump significantly. There was no way he could hide from Mrs Grinch now.

"Dr Cuddy you're looking rather fetching today. To what do I owe this displeasure on this fine December morn?" House piled on the charm.

"Well, since you asked," she smiled sweetly, "the clinic is in need of your special holiday charm. So if you could kindly make your way to the clinic. Now!" her face losing the sweetness it held moments ago.

She patted House condescendingly on the shoulder before turning back the way she came.

"Oh, Dr Wilson?" Wilson's head shot up at hearing her voice. "I noticed that you are lacking in your clinic hours too, so if you could kindly follow Dr House, I'm sure there's a clinic room waiting for you too."

Wilson stood in stunned silence listening to the sound of her retreating heels. He was only pulled out of his stupor when House slugged him on the shoulder.

"And you're sleep with that thing?" House was horrified, to think that Wilson, his best bud would stoop so low and fraternize with the enemy.

"Yeah, I do don't I," Wilson sighed in wonder, watching her shapely body saunter down the hall wearing a pair of tight black slacks, he was never so glad that her lab coat had been spoiled by a young child eating too much candy. Those things never ever tasted as good on the return.

"You know there's something that I never noticed about Cuddy before now," tilting his head to the side.

"Hmmm," Wilson was still daydreaming about the woman in question.

"Have to you noticed that Cuddy's rear looks like two dogs struggling to get free from a hessian bag?"

"House!"

"What? It's true!"

"Just because you're girlfriend is extremely smart and is a perfect ten! We all can't be that lucky," Wilson stormed off in the direction of the clinic leaving House standing in the middle of the corridor with his Christmas cane and jingling bells thinking. _She really is a perfect ten!_

Then something clicked into place. He knew who the culprit was.

Dr Allison Cameron was signing off on the last of the patient files from the Immunology Department which had been piling up over the past few days. Winter seemed to bring out all sorts of snuffles needing fixing; it seemed chicken soup couldn't fix everything nowadays.

Closing the last file she sat back sinking into her chair sighing softly as she rubbed the back of her neck trying to ease the kinks from being hunched over.

A second pair of hands joined hers making her jump slightly. Allison knew those hands; she had felt them many times before, sliding over her skin causing goose bumps to rise under them causing her to feel things she never felt possible.

"You've been a naughty little girl haven't you? Santa will have to find a special way to punish you." The voice husky in her ear caused shivers to run down her spine, liquid heat pooling in anticipation between her thighs.

"I..I… I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oooh I think you do." His tongue briefly touched the outer shell of her ear and she kicked the desk in shock. "I think you know exactly what I'm talking about."

Cameron's brain shut down. Closing her eyes as she took in the aroma of his aftershave, even though he never shaved completely, the scent coupled with his nearness almost made her swoon

Turning her chair sharply around bought her eye to eye with him. He stared long into her ocean blue eyes his hands on the arm of her chair pinning her there, she was hiding something he knew it.

"House, I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about."

Standing up to full height he bought his cane in from of her.

"This. This monstrosity is what I'm talking about!" he cried.

Cameron tried not to laugh. Her mouth fought the urge to smile at the sight of his cane, House could see she was highly amused at his expense.

"Don't you laugh missy," he said waving his cane in front of her, the shrill tinkle of bells only increasing his anger. "You know what happened. I know you do."

"Now, um… why do you think I have anything to do with your lovely seasonally inspired cane?" her mirth was becoming hard to contain. The image of the grumpy misanthropic diagnostician walking the halls jingling as he limped was something she hoped to tell her mother about when she rang her next.

"That I'm still tying to figure out," he said simply, "But I do know that it was you!"

"What makes you think that it was me who had anything to do with your cane fiasco?"

"You have the smell of a guilty woman. Plus you are the keeper of all things nice, someone's come to you and blabbed."

"Smell? I did shower this morning and as for someone coming and 'blabbing' to me. Hasn't happened, sorry," she chuckled.

"Well, not so much smell, but you have that thing about you," he explained waving his hands around in front of her.

Cameron raised a skeptical eyebrow at him, leaning forward to rest her arms of her chair.

"The only reason why you are accusing me of something that I have nothing to do with is to deflect attention on something you've done. It's to alleviate your own conscious wrong doings."

"Me do something wrong? That's ludicrous," House huffed shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Ever since they began dating she had developed this knack of knowing when he'd done something. It was like when a mother knows when the kids have done something when told not to.

Cameron looked at him, narrowing her eyes letting him know that she wasn't buying it.

"You have haven't you."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Get a life woman what would I do that needed deflecting?"

"Ahh lets see. How about rigging Wilson's office door to spontaneously erupt in song of 'I'm too sexy'? Hmmm." Cameron plainly said.

House smiled warmly in the memory of that little incident. Besides Wilson deserved it, he had started wearing new ties and shoes to work each day. The man was worse than a woman when it came to clothes.

Cameron continued, "Or how about ringing my mother three days before the holidays and telling her and my father not to bother coming down to spend Christmas with us?"

House blanched. That was exactly what he was trying to hide.

"Didn't happen."

"Oh yes it did. Mom rang as soon as she got off the phone to you just to confirm I was alright since I had mysteriously come down with a highly contagious case of 'christitis maxima'. What is that by the way?" Cameron leaned back in her seat waiting for his brilliant diagnosis.

"Ah well, you see, it's… an inflammation of the ….the," House was lost for words. Literally.

"Yes.."

"Well," House had to come clean somehow. Slowly he released all the breath in his lungs readying himself for the onslaught, "I wanted to spend Christmas just you and me."

"House we'd done that last year. We've been together for nearly two years and I want my parents to share this with us. I haven't seen them since Easter." Cameron rose from her chair moving to the front of her desk before him. "I want to see them and with us only being able to have a few days off it seemed logical to have them here."

"Well it's not practical!"

Cameron was taken aback by his outburst.

"How is it not practical. It's not as if they are staying with us physically, they are staying at the Varsity Inn on Main Street. They are only spending Christmas Eve and lunch the next day before the head up to New York to my brother's for dinner."

House rose from the chair and started pacing around her small office.

"It just isn't that's all."

"Tell me why House."

"Maybe…. I..I wanted to catch the Macey's parade on our own."

"That's not it and you know it," Cameron snorted

"Look, just forget it." House started for the door. The conversation was starting to turn sour, a direction he did not want to go.

"No. I want to know why you rang my mother and told her not to bother coming to visit," Cameron pleaded.

"I just want to be alone with you. No one else; just us all alone," his voice soft.

Cameron understood his need to be alone, and if she was honest with herself she actually preferred being alone with him as well. House had come a long way in the time they began dating, there had been some teething problems, but all relationships had them. He had become more considerate, a home body of sorts; to Cameron he was and always will be a home body, shutting himself away from the world with only a select few able to penetrate the blockades he used to protect himself.

Coming over to him she placed a hand on his shoulder, the other coming around to cup his stubbled cheek bringing his eyes to meet hers.

"Greg, I know. I really do but I also want my parents here celebrating Christmas with us. I want to show you off," she said with a gentle smile, her eyes conveying all the love she had for him. Her hands snaking their way around his neck just before she pressed her lips against his and he instantly opened to taste the sweetness he had grown to love.

There was something unique when it came to kissing Allison Cameron, House had a hard time placing the uniqueness but if push came to shove he would have to say she tasted of cotton candy and warm cinnamon and apple pie made by Nanna. She was forceful yet gentle all at once, naivety with touches of experience all rolled into one. In one word Cameron was 'special' and not someone House was willing to part with anytime soon.

Pulling back she rested his forehead against hers, sighing in the process. He loved her; he really and truly loved her. It had taken a while to wrap his mind and then his heart around the possibility but now that he had he could and would not deny her anything she asked if him.

Wilson had made the comment over lunch that he was whipped. House's only retort was that Cameron whipped him every night with a leather strap, and he loved it!

"Sorry," he whispered kissing her lips quickly. "I'll ring your mom back and sort it out."

"It's O.K. All's been sorted," her mouth coming up to plant a gentle kiss on his forehead before tucking her head under his chin, her arms snaking around his waist.

"They're still coming aren't they?" his voice soft almost getting lost in her hair.

"Yeah they are."

"So there's no point in trying to get you to say otherwise?"

"Not a chance," Cameron's voice became playful as she placed a series of gentle kisses on the underside of his stubbled jaw. "But I can certainly make the experience a little more bearable."

Her kisses were becoming distracting; mind you her whole presence is distracting.

"Hmmm…..how?"

"Well, you know that thing I do with my tongue?" she continued her trail along the underside of his jaw.

House's groin tightened involuntarily, his mind conjuring images from a few nights prior when Cameron had shown him up close and personal something she had discovered in a book sent to her by her best friend.

"There were a few other things in the book I wish to try out," Cameron's voice dropped to an almost husky desired filled level.

"Ohh…_god!_" a shiver ran along his spine, causing him to almost tremble in her arms.

"I didn't think you believed in god?"

"I'd believe in any heavenly body and thank them till world's end if I can be sure they dropped you in my lap."

Cameron could only sigh lovingly. Here in her office and in her arms was a man that shunned any type of knowledge that there was a god or any higher beings capable of creating the universe was actually wanting to thank them for her presence.

Cupping her face gently he bought her lips to his. Forcing his way into her plaint mouth drawing a moan from deep within her throat rumbling its way into his.

Tongues dueled, hearts raced, temperatures rose, idle hands desperately sought skin on skin contact. Cameron's leg raised itself automatically to his hip trying to bring their bodies closer together.

House's hand ran along Cameron's outer thigh, slowly drawing closer to his intended target.

"Ahem!"

The two lovers broke apart suddenly.

"Well at least you two have the decency to actually look guilty," the intruder laughed.

"Mom!" Cameron squealed before she ran into the arms of her mother. "What are you doing here? I thought you were coming up on Saturday? Where's dad? Did you have a good trip?" all of the words tumbled out of Cameron's mouth so fast House's head spun from the amount of information.

Mrs Cameron obviously was used to her daughter's rambling and took it all in good stride smiling warmly at her offspring.

"We thought you would need some help getting ready for the holidays and dad closed up the firm a little early cause he missed his baby girl and wanted to formally meet the man she's in love with. Yes, we had a good trip and your father is parking the car. Now is that all you asked?" the older woman smiled.

"Yes mom," Cameron smiled before hugging her mother once more.

"That is until she decides to pump you again for the in goings and out goings of home," House's voice made the two women look at him, the younger with a flash of annoyance the elder with the kind loving eyes a mother could have with an errant child.

"It's good to meet you Greg. I was soo glad you called," Isabel Cameron said as she came to warmly embrace him. House decided early on that Isabel Cameron was the original mirror her daughter was based on. His grandfather told him once many years before he died that if you wanted to see what the girl you were currently dating would look like when she got older all he had to do was look at the mother. In this case if his Cameron looked as good as her mother in twenty five years time; well let's say he would be a very very happy House indeed.

Allison Cameron looked closely as she watched two of the three most important people in her life; the other was currently parking the car.

"You rang my mother?" Cameron was dumbfounded, for a person who actively avoided any parental contact actively sought _her_ parents out.

"Sure. Quite simple really. Pick up the phone's hand piece, place it against ones ear, dial a few numbers and hey presto, you're immediately talking to someone who lives hundreds of miles away. Ingenious really," House beamed with astonishment of this invention.

Which in turn earned him a slap to the arm for his troubles from Cameron, Mrs Cameron could only laugh at the two lovers.

"Mom, it's not funny!" Cameron said sternly.

"I'm sorry sweetheart but it really is," her mirth evident.

"See you're mom likes me more than you," House said smugly as he sat against the desk poking his tongue out at her in his childish manner.

"Does not."

"Does too."

"Children please," Mrs Cameron was astonished that two grown, exceptionally smart, well respected doctors could and would behave no better than a four year old squabbling over the last piece of birthday cake.

The two doctors dropped their heads, at least having the dignity to be somewhat ashamed of their actions.

Cameron walked over to where House was perched on her desk.

"So you secretly invited my parents early for the holidays?"

"Thought I could score some brownie points. Did it work?" he looked at her expectantly.

"Yeah. It did," she replied kissing him softly, House deepening it almost as soon as their lips met.

Mrs Cameron sighed as she felt her husband's arms slip around her waist.

"Please tell me they haven't been doing this the whole time." Mr Cameron's voice low in her ear.

"No. But it's just so nice to see her finally happy and I mean truly happy."

"That's the only thing a parent can wish for their child," he replied turning her around in his arms holding her tightly.

Meanwhile, House and Cameron broke apart breathlessly, their eyes connecting and conveying the love they have for each other.

Hugging House closely to her body, bringing her mouth close to his ear, "I love you so much," she whispered.

House sighed pulling her body closer to his, letting her know that he felt the same.

"I also know who decorated your cane."

He sharply pulled back questioning her with a single look.

All she could do was nod. Bringing her lips back to his ear whispering the words he so longed to hear.

Quickly he pulled himself from her embrace causing her to giggle at his reaction, he made for the door.

"Hey, where are you off to?" Mr Cameron asked stunned to find that the man who was in love with his daughter was flying the coop so to speak.

House straightened up, tugging at the lapels of his jacket before placing his finger to his lips.

"Shhhh. I'm hunting wombats. It's wombat hunting season," he replied in his authentic Elmer Fudd voice, before checking around the door for his prey and leaving the two of the three remaining occupants with puzzled expressions, the other doubled over in raptures.


End file.
